1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for automated opening and dispensing of seed from a seed container and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automated opening and dispensing of seed for planting a research plot.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Research plots may be utilized to evaluate seed varieties. Specifically, seeds from one or more specific source, genotype, population and/or breeding line may be planted to allow researchers to evaluate characteristics of the plants growing from such seeds, as well as the characteristics of any crops produced from the plants.
Research plots can be planted by manually opening small paper packages containing the desired seeds to plant the same in the research plot. Known research plot planters such as those available from Seed Research Equipment Solutions of South Hutchinson, Kans. (SRES), and ALMACO of Nevada, Iowa, are designed to be pulled behind a tractor or similar mode of conveyance. Known research plot planters such as those available from ALMACO and SRES accommodate operators who manually open seed packets and pour the contents of the same into a hopper for dispensing into rows of the research plot. The operator of the research plot planter then discards the empty seed packages and repeats the process. This manual process is highly repetitive and must be completed within a brief time interval.